Two villages are ‘out of touch’

Editor:

Although Baltimore and Buckeye Lake are two different communities, they do share one similarity. Both village administrations seem to be “out of touch” with their citizens, and do not want to listen to the “will of the citizenry”.

My understanding of the problem in Buckeye Lake is based upon what I read, so here is my opinion. The Fire Department is funded by citizens’ tax dollars, but citizens are apparently not receiving the services that they are paying for.

Based on the reports by Charles Prince in The Beacon, citizens have a very good reason to be upset. When citizens vote to “defund” their source of emergency services, there must be a huge problem. In what appears to be a routine governmental action, the Buckeye Lake mayor and council “passed the buck” onto a “committee” to look into the matter. I would almost guarantee that before this is over, the solution will involve spending more money for the emergency services, and that leaves the village administration “uninvolved” in a tax increase.

Baltimore does not have the same problem, but they do have a “spending” problem. Our village administration has accepted the “myth” that Baltimore is growing and they must be ready. Their response is to expand the public payroll with a Village Administrator, Service Superintendant, enhanced police department with a full time chief, and a part time village engineer.

Since 2004 the spending for these positions has totaled well over $ 1,000,000, and in the meantime our streets are deteriorating. The Service Superintendant position has since been eliminated, and the police department must rely on reserve officers since the village cannot seem to find the monies necessary to properly fund THEIR idea. You might ask what this has to do with the failure to listen to the “will of the citizenry”...... it took TWO tax levy’s being soundly defeated before the village administration listened to the “will of the citizenry”.

This is what happens when the elected officials do not listen to the people who elected them to govern with the “will of the citizenry” being their guide. The problem in Buckeye Lake involves the “health” of the citizenry, In Baltimore it involves the “wealth” of the citizenry.